MANILA– Supreme Court Associate Justice Mariano C. Del Castillo, Chairperson of the 2018 Supreme Court Committee on the Bar Examinations, today announced the results of the 2018 Bar Examinations shortly after the special En Banc session of the High Court held today.
Speaking at the quadrangle of the Supreme Court New Building, Justice Del Castillo announced that a total of 1,800 out of the 8,158 examinees who took the 2018 Bar Examinations passed.
This figure translates to 22.07% of the total examinees who completed the 2018 Bar Examinations. The percentage is lower than the 25.5% (1,724 out of 6,748) examinees who passed the 2017 Bar Examinations.
Justice Del Castillo also announced that the oathtaking of the successful Bar examinees will be held on June 13, 2019 at 2:00 PM at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC).
Signing of the Rolls of Attorney will start the following day, June 14. Justice Del Castillo named the Bar examiners as follows: Atty. Carlo L. Cruz (Political & Public International Law); Atty. Hans Leo J. Cacdac (Labor Law & Social Legislation); Atty. Ma. Ngina Teresa V. Chan-Gonzaga (Civil Law); Atty. Carlos G. Baniqued (Taxation); Dean Cesar L. Villanueva (Mercantile Law); (Retired Court of Appeals) Justice Edgardo P. Cruz (Criminal Law); Atty. Tranquil G.S. Salvador III (Remedial Law); and Atty. Regina P. Geraldez (Legal Ethics & Practical Exercises). The Deputy Bar Confidant, Atty. Amor Entila, on the same occasion, announced that the Bar passers may secure their clearances from the Office of the Bar Confidant (OBC) beginning May 7 until June 11.
Successful Bar passers are directed to prepare a total amount of P6,050 (P3,850 for oath fees and P2,200 for Integrated Bar of the Philippines [IBP] dues, including building fund).
For clearance, each is advised to bring three (3) valid identification cards (IDs) – one for security and the two others for presentation to the OBC. 2018 BAR TOPNOTCHERS Borja, Sean James B., a graduate of Ateneo De Manila University topped this year’s Bar Examinations with the highest over-all rating of 89.3060%.
The 2018 Bar topnotchers are as follows: Rank Name School Rating 1 Borja, Sean James B. Ateneo De Manila University 89.3060% 2 Natu-el, Marcley Augustus D. University of San Carlos 87.5300% 3 Badayos, Mark Lawrence C. University of San Carlos 85.8420% 4 Fordan, Daniel John A. Ateneo De Manila University 85.4430% 5 Gaw, Katrina Monica C. Ateneo De Manila University 85.4210% 6 Tongco, Nadaine P. University of the Philippines 85.0320% 7 Sevilla, Patricia O. University of the Philippines 84.8590% 8 Ting, Kathrine T. De La Salle University-Manila 84.8570% 9 Cane, Jebb Lynus Q. University of San Carlos 84.8050% 10 Pita, Alen Joel R. University of San Carlos 84.6930% The 2018 Bar Examinations are the 117th held in the Philippines.
The exams were held at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila and were administered by the OBC headed by Deputy Bar Confidant Atty. Entila. The complete list of successful examinees is posted and may be viewed at sc.judiciary.gov.ph, the official website of the Supreme Court of the Philippines, and its designated mirror sites.
BAR EXAMS COVERAGE The Bar Examinations are given only once every year at a designated venue under the supervision of the Supreme Court which designates an incumbent Justice to chair a committee consisting of eight (8) examiners, one for each Bar subject. Under Rule 138, Section 9 of the Rules of Court, the coverage of the Bar Examinations includes the following subjects: Political Law and Public International Law (15%), Labor and Social Legislation (10%), Civil Law (15%), Taxation (10%), Mercantile Law (15%), Criminal Law (10%), Remedial Law (20%), and Legal Ethics and Practical Exercises (5%). T
he Chair of the Committee on Bar Examinations is given the discretion by the SC to choose the eight Bar examiners who are considered as experts in their particular fields and, during the entire duration of the Bar examinations, are bound by strict confidentiality.
STATISTICS FOR THE 2018 BAR EXAMINATIONS For the 2018 Bar examinations, there was a total number of 8,752 applicants. Of the said number, eight were denied, while 43 withdrew their applications, leaving a total of 8,701 applicants admitted to take the Bar by the Supreme Court En Banc. Of this number, 543 examinees did not show up on the First Sunday of the Bar, leaving 8,158 who actually took the exams on the first Sunday. After the fourth Sunday of the bar, only 8,155 examinees completed the examinations, i.e., showed up for all Sundays. Of the 8,158 who took or showed up for at least one Sunday, 4,077 were new candidates, while 4,081 were repeaters, i.e., those who had taken the Bar examination.
